A Final Reunion
by Silvermoon42
Summary: Captain Hitsugaya goes back to Hogwarts after the battle for soul burials and reunions. He meets old friends and says goodbye.


**So, here it is. The little scene where Hitsugaya comes back to Hogwarts after the battle. If you haven't read Year 1 to Year 3 - heh. You're gonna be lost. I did my best to explain without summarizing the three years, but...yeah.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Keep an eye out for the overhaul.**

 **Disclaimer: All proper rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

They were alerted by the sudden concentration of souls.

The Stealth Force team stationed in the area watched from afar as the two mortal forces prepared for war. One was firmly entrenched in the castle, a glowing dome stretching out over the building and parts of the grounds. The second army was gathering outside the boundaries of the dome, humans and strange creatures separated yet still clearly part of the same army.

When the dome fell in glittering shards and the fighting started, the Shinigami watched. They watched the walls fall under the ruinous hands of the giants. They watched as spiders crawled through the holes and hissed at the defenders inside. They watched as the day lengthened and a whole section of wall crumbled, taking with it part of a tower.

They watched as an interlude fell, as a voice echoed over the grounds, calling for a boy to meet him in the forest. Silence took hold.

Into the silence, a Shinigami spoke. "Call Captain Hitsugaya."

* * *

It had been years since he'd been here, Hitsugaya reflected as he stepped out of the Senkaimon onto a hill overlooking the castle. So much had happened, with the Quincy war and leadership changes, and his own bankai development not least of all. And it appeared things had changed around here, as well.

The peaceful air shrouding the castle had shattered, and now instead of a school it was a battleground. Bodies of wizards lay strewn about, although at this distance he could not distinguish between students and Death Eaters. Death was the great equalizer, after all.

"There will be a great many souls to bury," Hitsugaya remarked as he strode up to stand next to the Onmitsukido task force. "Surely you do not need a Captain for that."

All he got in response was a slight twitch of the muscles around the mouth. There was a long silence before the leader spoke. "You know the grounds. It is your job to clean up all the souls."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at that. _The Stealth Force has been monitoring the area for ten years, yet they do not know the grounds?_ He did not say it aloud. The war with the Quincy's had forced them to pull all available forces into the war effort. And they not only had to monitor Hogwarts, but all of the Wizarding World as well.

Then he felt a familiar rise in Spiritual Pressure and turned toward the forest. A second later, and it dropped so low that it was enveloped by the underlying magic present in every inch of this place.

 _Interesting,_ he thought, and looked over his shoulder at the Stealth Force. "I will start immediately." He disappeared in a burst of shunpo.

* * *

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Hitsugaya, perched on a branch above the clearing, watched as the green light struck Harry Potter in the shoulder, knocking him down and around. He landed with a thump, facing away from the Death Eaters and Voldemort.

 _Voldemort._ So this was the man who split his soul. An abomination. But...less so, Hitsugaya sensed. His soul was not as broken as before.

But regardless of whether his soul was healing or not, Hitsugaya was not there for him. He stood with one hand holding the branch above for balance, his eyes fixed on Potter's body. Why wasn't he…

Then, with a barely noticeable _whump_ , Harry's reiatsu settled back into his body. A woman was called over to check if he was still alive, and to Hitsugaya's great astonishment, she reported that he wasn't. Hitsugaya mulled this over as he left the clearing, grunting when he realized Potter's plan.

 _Very interesting,_ he thought approvingly.

* * *

The death of Voldemort's snake released the final fragment of Voldemort's soul. It was by no means healed, but the strain of having it in pieces was eased. Surprisingly, it was Neville who chopped off its head, the very same boy who, just a few years prior, had lost his frog in a small boat. Very soon the battle was over, and the survivors dragged their dead and wounded inside.

Hitsugaya straightened from his crouch. It was time to go to work.

By his estimations, only a few people would be able to recognize him, since people tended to forget Shinigami after a while. So therefore, as he walked through a hole made by a giant whose body lay just a few feet away, his presence would go largely unnoticed.

The sound of crying drew his attention, as did the two reiatsu signatures that signified the presence of plus souls. He redirected his path and soon came across a man and a woman huddled together on the ground, the woman with her head against the man's shoulder.

"Professor Lupin," Hitsugaya said, announcing his presence. The two souls scrambled to their feet, Lupin putting the woman behind him. He stared at the Captain for a moment.

"Hitsugaya," he said, clearly surprised. "You- What are you doing here? What are you wear- Is that a _sword?_ "

Hitsugaya regarded the man for a long moment, saying nothing. Then he looked over at the woman, taking in her pink hair and the ring on her left hand, matching with Lupin's. "I regret to tell you this, but you are both dead."

Both souls reeled back, from his matter-of-fact tone or his words, it wasn't clear. "We _know,_ " the pink-haired woman snapped. "So leave us alone!"

Hitsugaya ignored her. He drew his sword and reversed his grip, only to find the two souls backing away. "I will send you on. Do not be afraid of what comes next."

"Send us on," the woman scoffed. "Right."

Lupin was watching him with interest. It was to him that Hitsugaya addressed his next statement. "I am what you would call a Soul Reaper."

The woman snorted at this, her hair turning an angry shade of red. Lupin, however, looked strangely accepting. "Will we stay together?" he asked. Hitsugaya met his gaze with somber eyes.

"Perhaps."

* * *

Throughout the next several hours, he met many other souls that he vaguely recognized, but it was late in the day before he came across _them_.

They were walking across the stone bridge, picking their way past the rubble and bodies still lying where they had fallen. One of the males threw a stick that radiated a dark aura off the side, sending it spinning into the valley below, where it would break on impact. And when Harry died in his sleep many years later, its curse would finally be broken. "I don't want it," he said firmly.

"A wise choice," Hitsugaya agreed, making his presence known. The three spun to face him. "It has brought its previous masters nothing but harm. It would do the same to you."

"Hitsugaya," Hermione whispered, unshed tears shining in her eyes. "You're back."

"I am." He turned to Harry. "You have a godson now. And you two - you are engaged. Congratulations, all of you."

They still looked stunned, but nodded in acknowledgement. Hitsugaya continued.

"You graduated what, three years ago? What have you been doing since?"

He was genuinely curious, since he had not been able to follow events in the Wizarding World nearly as well as he would have liked from Soul Society. And so he listened as they told him about what had happened since he had left after third year, about the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year that ended with Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory as the winner, then a relatively quiet fifth year.

"Did you move in with Sirius Black?" Hitsugaya asked Harry suddenly, remembering that the prisoner had been declared innocent and that he had offered Harry a place in his home.

Harry nodded, his eyes shining happily.

The peace did not last, however, and their sixth year ended with Voldemort's resurrection. He had overestimated his own strength and made his first strike far too soon, and revealed himself to the Wizarding World before he was at full power, a mistake that likely cost him the war. Hogwarts had implemented a mandatory self-defense class to prepare the students for the war, and the Trio had spent the three years after graduation training. Only during the last few months had things gotten desperate, as it was discovered that Voldemort was using Horcruxes and had set spies inside the ministry. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was kicked out of office, and his next two successors were assassinated within weeks of each other. The current Minister, a former Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, was holding things together as best he could, but it was generally accepted that he would step down after the wartime.

Hitsugaya listened in rapt attention as they spoke, nodding occasionally to show that he understood. When they finally finished, the sun had travelled a fair distance across the sky, hiding behind a thick layer of clouds.

"You have gone through much," Hitsugaya murmured, closing his eyes.

Hermione was the first to break the silence, clearly uncomfortable. "What about you? What's been happening in Sou - sorry." She lowered her voice. "Soul Society?"

Hitsugaya sighed and looked up at the sky. It would rain soon. "We have also gone through a war. Many things have changed."

Evidently they heard his unwillingness to talk about it, for they did not question him further. Instead they spoke of little things, of Ron and Hermione's wedding, of their future plans, of what others in their year were doing. Hitsugaya was amused to learn that while Dumbledore had really died of a corruption caused by one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (which was, incidentally, how they had found out about the abominations), he had asked in his will that the public believe he died of nature.

When Hitsugaya asked for clarification, Ron grinned and replied that he had really put down that Fawkes, his Phoenix, had accidentally dropped him while transporting him, but the request was met with rolled eyes and was changed.

Phoenixes, after all, were nearly extinct, and it wouldn't do for people to believe they dropped their owners willy-nilly.

There was a long silence, in which Hitsugaya noticed Harry's expression deteriorate into something desolate. Something without hope. "You will never forget those who died," Hitsugaya said. They looked up at him, and he noticed the same grief in all of their eyes. "But the guilt will fade to fond remembrance."

"I doesn't feel like it will," Hermione whispered, voice thick, and Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. He whispered something into her ear and she leaned into him.

"It will," Hitsugaya promised. "You have nothing to feel guilty for."

Apparently they had been talking for long enough that people had started to wonder where they were, for Hitsugaya suddenly sensed a reiatsu signature break off from the mass of wizards and witches in the castle and make its way to their location. He sighed and stood, drawing the others up with him.

"It is time I leave," he said. "Your sister approaches, Weasley."

Harry's face, Hitsugaya noticed with some amusement, lit up. But he managed to control his voice. "You should come inside and see everyone else. I'm sure they would like to see you again."

"Those with low reiatsu will lose their memories of Shinigami over time," Hitsugaya told the Trio, who listened with great interest. "Few, if any, will remember me." He had not told them everything about Shinigami, just what they needed to understand to deal with Harry's emerging powers. Which reminded him… "Potter, have you had any more problems with your reiatsu?"

He knew that the boy hadn't - any large fluctuations would have been recorded by the Onmitsukido and would have eventually filtered down to him - but he was curious to see if his presence had been the catalyst that ignited his powers. Harry shook his head.

"No, nothing. I can't even feel it anymore. I've tried meditating and everything."

"That is good." At the boy's confused looked, he explained. "The powers of the dead are not meant for those still living. We knew that a Shinigami could give away his or her powers to someone with a high enough reiatsu to survive, but we were not aware that a wizard's reiatsu would be stimulated by direct contact with someone of my strength. That is part of the reason I was pulled out of the mission."

The female Weasley's reiatsu was quickly nearing their position. Hitsugaya bowed to the children - now adults, he supposed, but they would always be children compared to him. "Goodbye. May we meet again when you die."

Hermione looked like she wanted to hug him, but he was turning away before she could. Instead she called out, "We'll always remember you! When we die, we'll visit you!"

Hitsugaya turned his head just enough to see them out of the corner of his eye. "No, you won't," he said softly, and disappeared. He reappeared far above the bridge and watched as Ginny ran up to the group, hugging first Harry, then Ron and Hermione. They headed back inside the castle, and soon their reiatsu signatures were lost amongst the mass of wizards.

Hitsugaya breathed in deeply, taking in the sight of the castle one last time before opening a Senkaimon and going home.


End file.
